lost in translation
by waterinks
Summary: she was lost and he was tired and why couldn't they just stop finding eachother? kenshinkaoru au
1. Another Drunken Night

**Title:** Lost in Translation  
**Pairings:** K/K, S/M, One-sided A/M  
**Categories:** Romance, Adventure, Drama, Humour  
**Rating:** M  
**Author's Notes:**This story has nothing to do with the film, 'Lost in Translation'. I've never even seen it. I just thought the title suited this story.I had a bit of Charmed and Sex and the City in mind when I wrote this chapter!  
Oh and I've never been to San Francisco and I have no idea about how the Chronicle is run but for the sake of artistic license, just go with it for now. :D  
I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.

_**Lost in Translation  
Kelly1910**_

_**Chapter One-  
Another Drunken Night**_

_..o.._

"Yes Megumi, I've stirred it. I'm not that much of an idiot."

"Could've fooled me, is it bubbling yet?"

Decidedly ignoring the jab, Kaoru Kamiya moved the phone to her other ear and stared despondently at the inactive pot of liquid. She worried her bottom lip and shook the handle of the pot slightly, willing a bubble to appear. _Just one, please?_ The liquid seemingly preferred to stay 'unbubbled.'

_How you mock me...Jerk!_ The liquid bane of her existence seemed to resent her earlier statement and continued to remain barren of any bubbles, _Oh, way to go, Kaoru, you've insulted it now!_

"Err, nothing as of yet..."

She heard her friend sigh. "Only you could mess up something this simple. Did you add the milk? Because if you didn't it'll be as thick as custard."

"Yes, I _did_ add the milk. And, hey! It's not messed up!" She stirred the contents of the pot with a wooden spoon, cautiously. "It just refuses to boil."

"After forty-five minutes..." The voice on the other end of the line drawled; the flicking of a magazine could be heard in the background.

"Yeah," Kaoru mumbled in resigned agreement. "Hey Megumi, do you think I should...taste it?"

"It's your funeral," the voice scoffed, "don't worry, I'll reserve a seat for the front row."

Rolling her eyes, she carefully dipped the wooden spoon into the liquid and then brought it to her mouth. She considered it, closely. _I'll show you, Megumi Takani! _And with that, the spoon went in.

Several moments of silence followed.

"Kaoru? Kaoru, are you there? You're not actually dead are you?"

The raven haired woman swallowed; her throat shuddering in an effort to keep the liquid down.

"Kaoru?"

"_Cold_."

The doctor's tinkling laughter echoed within her ear canal. She could feel her face grow hot despite the iciness that covered the enamel of her teeth. She heard Megumi take a few heaving breaths that were supposedly for calming but weren't working all too well.

"My God, Tanuki, you did remember to turn on the gas, right?"

Kaoru blinked and bent down until she was at eye level with where the blue flames should have been. None were present. The hand holding the phone to her ear tightened dangerously. Megumi had obviously taken her silence as confirmation and had started on another bout of uncontrollable giggles.

Teeth clenched, the blue-eyed woman grasped the handle of the pot and swung it into the sink; the clunk of the metal and splatter of the liquid symbols of finality.

"That's it! I am never making chicken soup ever again!"

Her friend only continued to laugh.

..o..

_And that is how my relationship with a can of chicken soup ended, in a rather abrupt fashion if I may say so myself._

Kaoru scanned the screen quickly, before closing her laptop and laying her head down on top of it. Another day, another cooking disaster. She had thought that soup would have been fairly easy and with Megumi on call, it seemed foolproof. Of course, things rarely went the right way for her when kitchens were involved. She could only hope that one day they would invent a method of cooking that was 'Kaoru-proof'. But until that day came, she would have to use the old 'hit-and-miss' method. Generally missing, of course. Still, it gave her something to write about in her column.

She groaned and mentally quoted her new tag-line, 'Just your average Japanese woman, making her way through life, love and work right here in San Francisco_._' _It's completely stupid. My love life isn't going anywhere fast and I grew up in California! It's hardly like I'm a new kid on the block whose just been hit with culture shock. I know this place better than I know Japan, for crying out loud._

_It does pay the bills though, and I got a great apartment out of the deal_. So, maybe the pros did outweigh the cons just a bit. If you didn't mind the broadcasting of your personal life on a weekly basis. Which she didn't. Not _really. _She made half the stuff up so that she sounded more exciting. _How sad_...

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy writing. Heck, she loved it. After moving to America with her parents when she was a child, Kaoru had gotten acquainted with the English language and so began their lifelong love affair. Her _only_ love affair. Anyway, after leaving high school, she went to college and studied English literature and psychology. And after almost a year of job-hunting, she had finally got hired as the new female columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.

That was four months ago. She usually followed her 'tag-line', by describing her life in weekly snippets, in which she exaggerated _a lot. _Tsunan Tsukioka, her boss and also the genius who came up with her 'tag-line', had started talking about her becoming an agony aunt in the meeting room, just the previous day. At that point, she had went into a day dream where her face was splashed across a twenty foot billboard, sporting her cheesiest grin and with the words 'Ask Kaoru' printed beside her. There would be many car accidents that day, she'd decided with a shiver.

Of course, she and her Editor, who everyone just called Katsu, hadn't always been on such friendly, apartment-giving terms. It was only after seeing her skills at work that the man was swayed, however this did not involve the employment process.

-

_The dark-haired man looked over the top of his newspaper and was once again met by the large, teary blue eyes of the ever persistant columnist candidate. Katsu sighed, 'Doesn't this chick ever give up?!'_

_"What about now?_

_"No!"_

_"Please, Mr Tsukioka. I was made for this job!"_

_"Okay."_

_"Really?!"_

_"No!"_

_"Katsuuu! Just help out a friend!"_

_"I just met you this morning, you crazy woman!"_

_"Oh, come on! _You_ know, Sano._ I_ know, Sano. See! Lot's in common. A friendship waiting to happen!"_

_"But _everyone_ knows Sano!"_

_"I know, but that's not the point. Just give me the damn job!!"_

_The deafening silence of the busy cafe was enough for Kaoru to loosen her grip on the man's collar and smile sweetly instead._

_"Please?"_

-

He had eventually relented to her womanly charms/death threats and agreed to give her a chance. It had been harrowing but Kaoru Kamiya had come out victorious.

So, apart from a crazy boss and a huge invasion of her privacy, Kaoru could safely say that she was quite comfortable with her job.

Sitting up, she set her laptop aside and rubbed her now slightly squished nose. Enough writing had been done for the day. She made her way through to the kitchen and decided it was time to make friends with the only kitchen appliance that would have her. The kettle.

After raiding her cupboards she found a box of seemingly antique tea bags that must have been given to her by Megumi at some point. _Expensive_ looking tea bags. _'That woman finds any excuse to spend money, I swear.'_

Megumi as well as Kaoru's other close friend, Misao Makimachi were coming over this evening for their monthly 'Girls Night In' or as Kaoru dubbed it, 'The Night when Female Workaholics turn into Alcoholics'. Whatever suited them.

The girls would usually come to hers with bags of goodies and alcoholic beverages. Megumi with her vintage wine and Misao with her alcopops. Kaoru would take whatever they had. Once, when Megumi had the largest apartment and the drinking sessions had taken place there, she had obtained some Japanese sake.

"_Never again." _Kaoru had said. And she'd meant it. She had started drinking at 8pm and by 9, she couldn't spell her name. The whole night was a blur. It was rather disconcerting having absolutely no memory of the previous evening when she had woken up the next morning. She could have lost her virginity having kinky sex with Misao and would never have remembered it. Not that having kinky sex with Misao had ever appealed to her. However, the fact that she was wearing the other woman's underwear on waking up did arouse her suspicions. Anyway, kinky sex aside, that was the last time Kaoru had been officially 'plastered' and that had been a good six months ago.

Taking note of the time, she sipped her tea and made her way through to the living room and over to the window. The apartment was in the centre of the financial district and a few blocks away from the newspaper office on Mission Street. The only thing wrong with the place was that it was barely furnished, and Kaoru had only just been able to afford some chairs and other upholstery for the sitting room; the walls were still bare and peeling.

However, it was the view that was the main attraction. Situated about half-way up a high rise building in the middle of San Francisco was definitely something to brag about.

Her father and fifteen year old, brat of a brother, Yahiko lived in San Jose and since starting her new job, visits were going to be few and far between. Since her mother had passed away and Kaoru had moved out, she would occasionally go to the house and make sure it was clean and that the food in the fridge wasn't neglected. Men were useless when they lived alone together. Funny that whenever she offered to cook, they always had plans. Last month, when they had seen her walking up the front yard; arms full of ingredients for the three course meal she was going to prepare for them, they had locked the front door and ran in the opposite direction-- that being through the kitchen window, over the field behind the house and into the woods. But she caught up with them, oooh she caught up with them, alright. Her efforts were just so under-appreciated.

She leaned slightly against the full length windows, holding her warm cup with both hands. She watched the horizontal blinds move slightly with the breaths of wind that were let in by open gap of the window, before focusing on the city below. It was early evening. The sun was on the verge of setting, and its last streams of orange light were splashed across the city buildings; leaving her living room to bask in a soft glow.

Kaoru took another draft of the tea. It was good. It tasted like honey and some unidentifiable herb, leaving behind a delicious aftertaste and a drowsy feeling. It would probably be a kick-ass throat soother as well. Kaoru mentally noted to keep the tea bags handy for the next time she caught the flu. Everything Megumi gave her was good and useful to begin with. She just managed to turn it all craptastic. The tea had been a surprising success.

Peering into the distance, she could make out the Golden Gate bridge in all it's majestic glory. _Yeah, majestic alright. Rises to the heavens. Hell to cross in a car at rush hour._

Her violent thoughts towards the bridge were pushed away when a series of knocks were heard at her door. _That'll be Takani and Makimachi. Early. Must be desperate for a drink or something_.

Placing her cup on the table, she quickly ran to answer the door.

"Hey, guys!"

"Kaoru!" Misao squealed enthusiastically while giving her a tight hug. "Look at all the stuff I brought. '100 Greatest Love Songs', Vodka, 'The Notebook.' Can't have a girly night without 'The Notebook'," she chattered on in speedy Japanese while continuing to pull things from her many bags, "I'm feeling kinda depressed. Aoshi-sama is still being so thick-headed. He really should wake up and smell the coffee, oh and find me beside him! But that's a whole other story--"

"Breathe, Misao," came a calm voice from outside the door. "You can tell Kaoru the story when we get settled but at least let us get in the door first."

Megumi and Misao were like polar opposites. Kaoru was surprised they could even tolerate each other at all. Where Megumi was an elegant and refined doctor with dry humour and quick wit, Misao was a hyperactive personal assistant to a business tycoon, with a bright grin that would light up anyone's day. Oh, and she had a rather alarming obsession with her boss...

"Oh, right. I'll go get my stuff sorted. Is it alright if I crash here tonight, Kaoru? Aoshi-sama gave me the day off tomorrow. He's so generous..."

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Sweet," and with that she literally bounced down the hall.

"Recovered from your little incident this morning, Tanuki?" Megumi asked while giving her a polite hug.

"The soup never survived if that's what you're asking."

The older woman smirked. "It was expected, Tanuki."

Kaoru growled as she closed the door and followed the taller woman into the sitting room. This was going to be a long night.

..o..

"I'll never stop saying this but you've got such an amazing apartment, Kaoru!"

"It's just something Katsu threw in to sweeten the deal. He could hardly let one of his columnists live in the slums. _Hello, today while I was out shopping, I got shot in the gut! Gotta go now, there's blood on my carpet."_

Megumi snorted as she made her way from the kitchen door to the sofa.

Misao slumped down onto a cream leather armchair with her drink. "Shame that oaf couldn't have had it furnished though…"

"Mm-hmm," Kaoru responded through a mouthful of red wine. "But I fell in love with the place when Katsu first brought me to see it. I'll get round to decorating it eventually."

"At least the kitchen's to die for. Not that you'd realise that Tanuki, you rarely see it through the billows of smoke coming from your pots." At this, she laughed loudly; it was Misao's turn to snort.

"Touché," Kaoru muttered as she flicked her ponytail over her shoulder and sat down on the floor, legs crossed. She took a peek in one of Megumi's bags.

"I was just surprised that an acquaintance of that rooster head could produce such a tasteful living space."

Kaoru rolled her eyes as she opened up a box of Belgian chocolates.

"Speaking of that particular bird variety, how are things going between you guys?" Misao chirped as she moved to lie across the chair, balancing her glass of vodka and coke on her trim stomach.

The older woman huffed and crossed her legs, flicking her skirt at the same time. "If you're talking about Sanosuke Sagara, then I can assure you that he is the _last _thing on my mind."

"Come _on_, Megumi. You guys have pet names for each other and everything!"

"Oh, _please_. Let me retain some semblance of dignity tonight, Misao. My taste in men is far above the likes of that brute."

"Well, at least I'm open about _my_ crush. But, of course, it's _so _much more than that."

"Don't we know it," Megumi and Kaoru muttered under their breaths, as another nameless love song began to filter through the speakers.

Misao gulped back her drink obliviously and reached to pour another.

"You know, I was thinking about taking a trip home when I get vacation time. Maybe even take up some martial arts or kendo while I'm there. Aoshi-sama has a personal trainer who comes over from Japan every few months to train him in different styles. Hey Kaoru, I've been meaning to ask; didn't you start learning kendo before you moved? You couldn't give me a few lessons could ya?"

Kaoru frowned as she chucked another half-eaten chocolate back into the box. "I started learning our family style…but that was years ago and we moved before I could really get into it so I'd be kinda useless there, Misao. It's sad since it had quite a nice philosophy to it. Yahiko would have benefited from it as a way to channel his anger," she mused on it for a moment before looking up at her friend curiously, "And since when did your boss practice swordsmanship, anyway?"

"I kinda found out by accident, funny story actually. He was in the changing rooms and uhh..." the hyper young woman trailed off. "Hey, do you hear a phone ringing?"

"It's yours Misao," came Megumi's dry reply. "It's been going for a while."

"Oh," she muttered, pulling the pink phone from her pocket. "I wondered what that vibration was, seeing as I didn't have my uhh never mind. Ooooh, the number's withheld!"

She cleared her throat.

"Misao Makimachi speaking. Sex Goddess and wanton slave to Mr. Aoshi Shinomori. How may I help...Oh hello, Aoshi-sama!"

Kaoru and Megumi's eyes widened as they watched the younger woman talk to her boss. Misao being so small and light immediately proved to be a weakness when it came to alcohol.

"Yes, captain. I mean, Sir. I'm on it. You can count on me! Makimachi out! No, I'm not drinking, why do you ask? Oh you sexy devil, you. Well I'm at Kaoru's flat right now, waiting on you, you horn dog-- Oh, he's gone."

Kaoru and Megumi exchanged looks.

Misao continued to stare at her phone. A buzz was heard from the small pink device.

"_Misao, did you say something?_"

"Oh, shit! No, he's not!" And with that, the phone was sent flying across the room.

Kaoru rolled onto her back, laughing whilst Megumi coughed slightly and wiped her eyes. An idea suddenly came to the blue eyed woman and she scrambled across the floor to her notepad.

"Honestly, the stuff you guys come away with is like a gold mine for my column."

"I'm gonna be in so much crap when Aoshi-sama sees me. But maybe he's finally got the message!"

The doctor shook her head and moved to refill her glass.

"What did he say?"

"Umm, he wants me to go in tomorrow. Some rival business' CEO has arranged a meeting with him. I don't see why I'm needed...but if it's to serve tea, then I'll pour it over his perfectly gorgeous head." She placed a palm to her forehead and winced, "Ow, my brain hurts..."

"Don't drink and think, Misao," Megumi gave an exaggerated sigh.

"How's your thing from the clinic?" Kaoru asked the doctor from her position on the floor, where she was currently writing what she was sure was utter gibberish.

"Thing?"

"Yeah, you know. The _thing_. "

"Oh,_ that_ thing. He was married. So I blew him off. It didn't seem fair."

"Oh my god. It's because of your love for Sano, right? Rooster head?"

"No, Misao. It was out of consideration for his wife--"

"Hmm..." Misao looked thoughtful before jumping over the sofa to retrieve her phone. On standing up, her eyes gleamed with mischief and she flipped open the pink device. "Who says we give the rooster a call?"

Kaoru looked up from her scrawled writing and smirked in agreement. _Payback time._

Megumi's eyes widened and she choked back her drink, quietly.

..o..

It is a universally-known fact that hangovers are a bitch.

Kaoru pressed one hand firmly to her throbbing head and another on the counter as she waited for the kettle to boil. The first rule of having a drinking night in your home: always have a ready supply of pain-killers at hand for the following morning. Conveniently, Kaoru had none.

Her body worked on auto-pilot as she methodically placed the tea bags into two identical cups. She focused on the orange light of the kettle as she counted the seconds and coincidentally, the throbs of her headache.

After one throb too many and a still glowing orange light, Kaoru gave up and poured the water into the cups. She groaned as another blast of numbing pain and nausea washed over her. Her vision blurred slightly and she leant her hip against the counter. How she hated hangovers. With no medicinal cures, she was relying on Megumi's tea bags to relieve her and Misao's pain.

Megumi herself had been called away twenty minutes earlier on an emergency call from the clinic. The poor woman ran out of the flat holding an ice pack to her head and screaming at the taxi to 'shut that damn horn off' or something to that effect anyway. Kaoru had later crawled out from whatever-hole-she-had-decided-to-fall-unconscious-in-last-night and had promptly been hit with the dreaded morning-after effects.

Grabbing the two cups from the counter, she moved her feet slowly and finally made it through to the living room, where Misao was lying sprawled on the sofa in a similar state.

The room was shaded in darkness since the light bugged the hell out of the vampire-like creatures that Misao and Kaoru had become. The heavy, linen drapes had been wrenched hastily across the usually appreciated bay windows that morning.

"I feel like I spent the night with a pineapple," Misao stated as she gratefully accepted the cup of tea. "My back is killing me and my head's no better. Plus, Aoshi-sama wants me in the office in half an hour. Just kill me now..."

Kaoru smiled wearily and settled down on the floor, with her back against the sofa leg. Tipping her head back to rest against the cool leather, she tried to ignore the monotonous ache inside her head and the churning of her stomach. She just needed to distract herself from slipping into another alcohol-induced coma. She still felt slightly woozy, confirming her fears that some of the alcohol wasn't out of her system yet.

"You could just call in sick today. I'm sure your boss won't mind. You can just chill out here with me," Kaoru said as she stared at the white-washed ceiling.

"Nah, I'm sure he'll see through _that _excuse. As if my bags clinking on the way out of the office last night wasn't enough to go by, as well as that phone call…"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each trying to think of things that didn't have anything to do with alcohol. Personally, Kaoru thought she could never look at a glass of wine or a bottle of vodka again. Her stomach turned at the memory of the damnable drinks and she held her breath and waited for the intense heat that had surged through her body to release her from its grasp.

"Hey, Kaoru...do you actually remember _anything _from last night?"

"Well..." she swallowed and her throat worked as she tried to remember the blurry events of the previous evening. "I remember you calling Sano and professing Megumi's 'love'. Then, you left him on hold while giving a rather violent rendition of 'I Will Always Love You.' Murdering it, naturally. Sometime after that you must have hung up. Err, I think you might have called your boss a few times as well." Misao groaned. "But after your fifth time trying to get through, he must have turned his phone off. After that, I vaguely remember a drinking contest in which Megumi won. It's rather hazy after that."

"I see." Misao stared at the cup in her hands before taking a gulp. Time stopped.

She brought the cup back down and looked up, the epitome of calmness.

"The tea's cold, Kaoru."

The blue eyed woman gave an almost silent sigh of defeat. The kettle had finally betrayed her. She should have seen that one coming, damn traitor. "It wasn't unexpected..."

The two women looked at each other for a long moment before simultaneously covering their mouths, dumping their cups and racing to the bathroom. It was a typical post-drinking morning at Kaoru's.

..o..

Aoshi Shinomori's driver had arrived at the apartment at exactly 10am, much to Misao's dismay. Since she hadn't been expecting to be called to work that morning, she hadn't packed any of her more formal clothes. Kaoru kindly donated to her cause, however. Misao had slipped into one of her friend's business suits rather hastily, leaving the suit jacket unbuttoned and her skirt rather twisted. She had forgone the high heels all together, preferring to sling them over her shoulder. The suit was baggy around her smaller frame but it would have to do. Muttering a quick goodbye and a promise to pick up her stuff later, Misao stumbled out of the apartment and into the lift; her long braid swinging behind her. Heaven forbid anyone be in the corridor that morning and witness the small, crazy woman with the spiky heels and homicidal tendencies.

Kaoru pulled on some comfortable clothes and threw herself into tidying up her apartment to try and keep her mind away from the hangover. The living room wasn't as bad as it sometimes was after the girls had been over. There weren't any random lingerie or sex toys hanging off the lamp-shades or any unidentifiable objects in the fruit basket...for once Misao had left her fruit alone.

She pulled open the curtains, cringing as she did. It was a bleak, spring day; the early morning mist was low and sat around the top of the buildings. Her apartment wasn't high enough up to be covered by the mist. Looking down, she could see the blurs of the colourful cars in the streets below. Kaoru closed her eyes, deciding not to open the window and welcome the torturous city sounds just yet.

After convincing herself not to start thumping her head off random pieces of furniture as an impromptu headache cure, she grabbed some polish and started towards her desk.

It was the usual shambles.

Random pieces of paper floated around the mahogany wood, with empty pens with half-chewed lids and notebooks with masses of blue ink scribbled across their pages.

Kaoru gathered up some balls of scrunched up paper and shoved them in the bin, before picking up the ones that had become failed attempts at hoop shots, which were scattered around the floor in varying degrees of shameful distance from their actual target.

Moving back to the desk, she placed some of the salvageable pens back into the stationery pot and found herself smirking when she came across the notebook in which she had recorded some of the previous evening's events. Spraying some polish onto the cloth, she began to wipe the wood carefully.

Something glinted in the light and she caught sight of it from the corner of her eye.

A group photograph, which had been buried behind piles of junk for God only knows how long.

Kaoru smiled softly as the memory of a warm day spent with friends passed through her mindscape. She could still remember the way that they had bustled together seconds before the photo was taken. She picked up the metal frame and wiped the glass slowly with her cloth. It didn't feel like three summers ago that the five of them had visited Alcatraz. They were standing on the path leading up to the prison, happily squished side by side. Kaoru had pleaded with a Chinese woman to take the picture and after Megumi had started showing off with her Chinese skills, the woman had finally accepted. To this day, Kaoru was convinced that some cash had exchanged hands since Megumi could barely order a chicken chow mein in Chinatown at the time.

But somehow, their small group managed to visit a depressing place like Alcatraz and still make it a happy day out.

_I haven't changed that much at all in three years_...

Her bangs were slightly shorter then but everything else was the same. Her casual high ponytail, dress sense, height... She stared at her own eyes that were as blue as the clear sky behind them. It had been a good summer that year.

A teenage Misao stood beside her; eyes sparkling with unveiled laughter. She must have just graduated from High School. A glance to her lower half confirmed that she was going through her obsessive post-High School multi-coloured mini skirt phase. It was bubblegum pink that day.

Megumi stood to Kaoru's left, a hand flicking her long black hair over her shoulder in a seemingly indifferent manner but the tiny smile on her red-painted lips and the faint blush on her cheekbones proved it to be quite the opposite.

Kaoru turned her attention to the tall figure who was standing casually beside Megumi.

Sanosuke Sagara.

Her small group of close friends were all at least half-Japanese, either having moved from Japan or were born in the USA but with Japanese parents.

Sano, himself, had lived in Japan up until he was 12 years old. Supposedly, he had been involved in a crime syndicate as a child before he was shipped over here to live with a relative. He never met them. He spent most of his teen years on the streets of LA; joining gangs, doing drugs and many other things Kaoru didn't even want to begin to think about. On the streets, he had been known as Zanza, a fighter-for-hire. It was after a rather rough 'mission' that he had ended up on the doorstep of the clinic where Megumi worked.

That had been a few months before the photo was taken. It was an accident that she and Misao had even become acquainted with Sano. After visiting the clinic late on a Saturday night, they had found him covered in blood in Megumi's office with the near-hysterical female doctor screeching at him.

_Jou-chan_...

That's what he had called her from the first time they had met. He had a habit of adding Japanese nuances into his speech. It probably came from him not having proper English lessons and learning everything he knew from people on the streets in order to survive.

He had given up the street fighting soon after that, however. Megumi said it was because his right fist was busted, but he was convinced that he needed to find a new meaning in his life. Busted fist or no busted fist.

It was on a hot summer's day that Kaoru had been awakened by a pounding on the front door and an inane abuse of the name, 'Jou-chan'. After cracking the ex-fighter's head with Yahiko's baseball bat, she finally found out that the Rooster-head had decided to take them all on a trip to Alcatraz.

Kaoru smiled as she remembered hitting the guy repeatedly over the head until he was whining for her to stop.

He was a lot taller than the rest of him, his spiky hair adding to his height. He was wearing that ridiculous red bandana and white gi with the kanji for 'bad' on the back. Megumi had told her that he had procured them from his days in the Japanese street gang. He was rather controversial, she would give him that. But he didn't seem to care for the strange looks he got from people, probably because he knew he could kick their asses if he wanted to.

She looked thoughtfully into his dark, chocolate eyes. He tried to act tough but she knew he had a lot of compassion to him. Despite his physique, if she hadn't known of his past, Kaoru would never have thought he could have been such a violent individual. Last year, he finally was able to hold down a stable job as a bouncer at a nightclub downtown. He said at the time that it was his greatest achievement.

She finally looked at the smallest figure in the picture. Her then 12 year old brother, Yahiko. He was scowling and batting Sano's hand away from his head. His skin was a lot darker than her own and his hair was spiky and stood out in different directions. He had tagged along when Sano had come to pick her up that day. Of course, he had spent most of the ferry ride to the island hanging over the side of the boat, sick as a dog.

Since then, Yahiko and Sano had developed a close bond. Sure, they argued a lot and drove each other crazy but Sano was like the older brother that he never had. Kaoru admitted that she was jealous at the way her brother would open up to Sano, but she knew he would never talk to her about 'feelings'. She didn't know if he had talked about their mother with the older man but somehow, she knew he hadn't. He was still so angry and confused, even after all these years. He should be able to talk to her. But he doesn't. They would get close to talking sometimes but something would click within his mind and he would clam up. Kaoru would sigh and resign herself to her role as 'the ugly hag' in his life.

They were an odd group. Mismatched in many ways. Megumi, the refined and sarcastic doctor. Misao, the hopelessly obsessed maniac. Sanosuke, the street fighter turned bouncer. And Yahiko, her annoyingly brilliant little brother.

But together they were the pieces that made up her jigsaw of a life and she honestly didn't know what she would do without them.

Finally setting the photo frame down, she picked up her cloth and continued to polish the wooden surface of the desk, however her mind was miles away, lost in the memories of the past; a time that no one and nothing could ever bring back.

..o..

"Yes, I understand. No, I don't know anyone desperate enough to date your sorry a- I mean, no I don't know anyone. I'll e-mail it to you. Yes, I'll be in tomorrow. Ok, I gotta go Katsu; I'll talk to you later. Sure thing, bye!"

Kaoru sighed and snapped her phone shut.

_Damn Katsu and his stupid deadlines_.

She clipped the phone into it's holder on the dashboard and turned her eyes back to the road. Katsu's phone call had been a slight reprieve from her staring match with the license plate of the car in front of her. Before that, she had been counting how many patches of rust she could see on the metal work.

_You are a sad, sad woman, Kaoru Kamiya_.

Her finger began tapping the steering wheel as she sat in the Sunday afternoon traffic. Misao had had the brilliant idea of calling her from her boss' tai-chi class, saying that she was stranded and in need of a ride home. It turns out that Aoshi had decided to quit the office and take his rival for a revitalizing day at a spa, then drag him along to his tai-chi class. Misao had followed dutifully. Kaoru had no idea why she had even agreed to it and hadn't told the girl to hoof it onto a tram or something. From Misao's vague directions over the phone, Kaoru had drawn out a rather hasty map. Art had never been her strong point in high school.

She tried to decipher which way the map went before laying it against the steering wheel and studying it closely.

_Funny...I don't recall there being a river running down the middle of San Francisco_...

Kaoru sighed.

Either Misao had taken direction lessons from Sanosuke again, or her map-making skills had dropped to a whole new level. She feared it was the latter.

The traffic was moving at a snail's pace and Kaoru had never had a great attention span and soon found herself bored of scanning the map and the staring contests with inanimate objects. Her fingers began to twitch against the wheel and so she began searching through the collection of CD's that she kept in the car. She remembered that Megumi had given her a self-help listening pack on anger management for her birthday last year and in an ironic rage, she had thrown the CD into the car's collection.

After flipping through a multitude of disks, she finally came upon the bright yellow one she was looking for. Printed boldly across the front in green lettering was the title: **Dr. Watsuki's Guide to finding your Inner Self and Attaining Eternal Peace.**

_Yeah right_, she thought as she jammed it into the car's CD player. She absently wondered if Megumi had stolen the disk from Misao's Zen-obsessed boss.

Her thoughts were cut short when a voice boomed from the speakers. She hastily twirled some random knobs and hoped the volume would go down.

"_Hello and welcome to Dr. Watsuki's Guide to finding your Inner Self and Attaining Eternal Peace. I am Peg Lin and following the teachings of Dr. Watsuki, I will help you to control your inner emotions and become an all round better person with 10 easy steps. First of all, you must find a wide space where you will be able to have a relaxed and quiet environment--"_

Kaoru glanced around her 'environment'. Said environment being a cramped Ford Fiesta, fully equipped with blaring horns and exhaust fumes coming from all directions.

_"--and make sure to be wearing comfortable clothes. Find a position that you will be able to sit in for a duration of time and then we will begin. Take a deep breath--"_

The calming breath that Kaoru had begun to take was choked out when the sound from the speakers began to crackle and a new voice replaced the tranquil one of Peg Lin. An annoyingly familiar voice.

"--_Alright, listen up, Tanuki. I'm a doctor and your friend and I know you've shoved this CD away into the deepest recesses of your car but this disk is for your own good! You're never going to get a man with that cooking of yours, let alone your temper--"_

The voice was cut off as the disk was ejected and thrown out of the window. Kaoru huffed as she listened to it clatter on the road outside.

_Megumi Takani, you better say your prayers tonight_.

..o..

After another half an hour, the traffic began to move and Kaoru turned off at the first available junction. Turning left, she came upon a residential street. Her eyes flicked between the road and her map on the steering wheel. On the phone Misao had mentioned that the tai-chi building was in Chinatown but after following the map she had somehow found herself just outside the Bay area.

She ran a hand through her hair, tiredly. Why hadn't Misao just caught a ride with her boss, instead of dragging her half-way across town on some kind of wild goose chase?

She flicked the failed map onto the passenger seat and reached for her cell. She would call Misao and get her to walk here if need be. After two rings, the cheerful voice of one Misao Makimachi chirped into her ear. The fact that the girl could be so chipper in any situation was beyond her. Kaoru sighed.

"Misao, it's me. It turns out my map-making skills haven't improved since High school and so to cut a long story short; I'm lost and--"

"Kaoru! Is that a car engine I hear?! Are you driving while you're on the phone?!"

"Yeah, but I'm just--"

"Do you know how dangerous that is?! Pull over!"

"What?! Misao--"

"Pull over, Kaoru Kamiya or so help me, I'll get those photos from my hard-drive and make them into leaflets. And don't pretend that you don't know what ones I'm talking about! Spring Break '04, Johnny Falcone's rooftop party and the effects of you deciding that spiked punch is good for the soul and tables look hot enough to dance topless on, then--"

"ALRIGHT! Alright. No more, Misao. I'll pull over, but promise me you'll delete those photos." Kaoru cheeks burned with blurry memories of the party. She had been in college at the time and Misao had been a senior in high school. They had met a few months before and Kaoru, being the ever responsible and caring friend, decided to spend Spring Break with Misao. Let's just say the girl was a bad influence and leave it at that.

"I promise," the voice crooned in a manner that immediately set warning bells off in Kaoru's head. Groaning quietly, she pulled her small blue car into a space at the side of the street, reversing slightly in order to avoid someone's driveway.

"You're so evil, and I thought Megumi was the head blackmailer. I see the error of my ways. Now, since you obviously don't believe that what happens in Spring Break stays in Spring Break, I guess you've got me. Like I was saying, I'm lost and--"

"Oh, don't worry about it, Kaoru. Aoshi-sama came to my rescue...with his limo. You can just totter off home and get ready for tonight!"

Kaoru's form draped bonelessly over the steering wheel and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Tonight?" she asked wearily.

"Yeah, I've decided that the whole gang, minus your brother since he's underage, is going to have a night on the town! We haven't had one in a while and Aoshi-sama said that since I came in today that I can have tomorrow off!"

"Oh, how generous of him. And pray tell how are the hard-working citizens of this fair city, namely Megumi and myself, supposed to compensate for two simultaneous hangovers over two days _and _still be able to go to work tomorrow morning?"

Her sweetly sarcastic voice seemed to evoke some giggles from Misao. Kaoru felt like growling.

"Well you don't _have _to drink, Kaoru. Jeez, if I didn't know you any better, I'd accuse you of being a raving alcoholic! Anyway, I'm away to call Megumi and blackmail her into coming as well. Sano is already game and I'm sure he'll drag Katsu along. We'll pick you up at 8, see you then!"

And the line went dead.

Kaoru closed her eyes and flipped her phone shut. No amount of breathing exercises would ever help her. She dropped the silver device onto the dashboard and began to stare at the badge on the steering wheel in front of her. Misao's plans for her liver were not looking good.

Sighing, she dropped her head onto the wheel.

The horn blared and echoed through the streets of the quiet suburb.

Such was the life of Kaoru Kamiya.

..o..

"Have you ever noticed that a banana is phallic-shaped?"

Kaoru looked up from where she was painting her toe-nails.

"I'm sorry Megumi, but I'm sure I just heard you ask me if I had ever noticed that a banana is phallic-shaped..."

The doctor sighed from her place next to the fruit basket. She plucked up the yellow fruit and began peeling it. "I did."

The blue-eyed woman stared at her friend for a moment before her eye twitched, unconsciously. _Leave it to Megumi to discover that concept_. She placed the bottle of mint green nail polish to the side and walked awkwardly with the cotton wool wedged between her toes, until she reached the older woman.

"Now, I know that Sanosuke is a bad influence and that he enjoys corrupting the minds of the young but I thought you of all people would be immune to that side of him. However..." Megumi continued to stare dreamily at the banana and was not listening to a word Kaoru was saying, "You obviously aren't."

A crash from the front door brought Kaoru's attention away from her fruit-loving friend.

Misao appeared in a flash of colour. Her hair was tied in its usual braid with a pink ribbon at the end and her blue dress cut off above her knees. She hadn't noticed that one of her straps had fallen off her shoulder. The bright flush across her face gave away the fact that a drink or two had already been consumed.

"Kaoru! It's nearly 8! I thought I told you to be ready by now! Sano and Katsu are waiting in the car and we still need to pick up...uhh Megumi! What are you doing here?"

Megumi discarded the banana and looked up with a scowl at the hyperactive girl. She had been threatened with everything from death to public humiliation if she didn't come tonight. She had been stubborn but after Misao had mentioned something about scandalous photos of Kaoru, the doctor had all but signed her soul over to the devil, a.k.a Misao.

"I came over here to get ready. However, Weasel Girl, I hope you remember to uphold your part of the deal."

"Deal?" Kaoru asked, wondering what Misao could possibly have on the older woman.

Misao smiled mischievously, "Oh, I remember alright. But first things first, you two have to get ready! If we don't hurry, Aoshi-sama might have already left and--"

"Hold it," Kaoru yelled, "Aoshi-sama? As in your _boss_, Aoshi-sama? What's this got to do with him?"

"Well, you see..." the younger girl began nervously.

"Misao, if this is another of your 'How to Take Advantage of Aoshi while he is Inebriated' schemes, then I want no part in it," Megumi said with conviction.

_Ahh, so her boss must be out on the town tonight and Misao's on the prowl. She should just become a professional stalker, _Kaoru watched the girl as she suddenly grinned.

"Don't worry, Megumi. My plan's already set, and you don't have to do a thing! But we've got to go...like now!"

Kaoru and Megumi shared a look before grabbing their shoes. At the very least the night would be entertaining.

..o..

"--And so I chucked him out and told him if he came back again, I'd kick his ass into next week! The woman was quite grateful, if you know what I mean!"

At the end of Sanosuke's story, it was only himself and Katsu that howled with laughter. Megumi was out stone cold, slumped in the corner of the booth that the group was sitting in, and had been so for a good hour or two after Happy Hour had begun. Misao had a pair of binoculars and was watching her boss who sat across the room, over the top of the leather seats; small murmurs of "Hands off, bitch," and "Yeah, you show them who you belong to, Aoshi-sama!" could be heard now and again.

Kaoru was idly staring at her drink, cut off from the other's comments. The low music thrummed through the speakers above their booth and seemed to want to lull her to sleep. Her eyelids drooped dangerously before flickering open as she watched Katsu stand and walk over to the bar and Sano move to lean over the unconscious doctor with a curious expression on his face.

"Hey, do you think she'd wake up if I held her nose?" His hand was now hovering over the woman's nose.

"No, Sano," Misao snapped as she pulled herself away from spying on her boss to smack his hand away, "I think she'd choke."

"Well how else are we gonna wake her up? She needs to be awake when we do the thing!"

"Thing?" Kaoru muttered but was ignored.

"Well you should have thought of that before you drunk her under the table during that shot contest. Did the fact that she'd be unconscious slip your mind, Rooster-head?!"

"Guys..."

Sano had slammed his fist on the table and Misao had done the same. Looking at the man's profile, Kaoru noticed something white poking out of his back pocket.

"Shut up, Weasel!"

"Guys..."

She reached over and pulled out the pieces of white paper as Sano and Misao began what appeared to be an arm wrestle.

"Make me!"

She brought the paper close to her eyes and tried to decipher the blurry characters.

"Why you--"

"GUYS?!"

They froze in their impromptu arm wrestling position and looked over at their drunken friend and the pieces of paper in her hands.

"What're these?"

Sano and Misao looked at each other, then at the paper. Both seemed to shrug in resignation, before grinning brightly and swinging their arms around Kaoru's shoulders.

"Well, we all feel that you've been stressing yourself out lately, Jou-chan. So, since it's your 24th birthday soon--"

"It's 2 months away, Sano."

"Yeah, yeah, we know that but do we really need an excuse to treat our bestest best friend?"

"I guess not," the words sounded slurred.

"Well, Jou-chan, we; as in Megumi, Misao and myself, since Katsu needs to hang around here, have decided to take you somewhere for your birthday."

"Where are we going?" _Tickets? So, maybe a holiday in Florida? A day in Hollywood? Shopping in New York?_

"We're going to Japan, baby!"

And with those words, Kaoru's eyes rolled backwards and her head hit the table.


	2. editing 1

I'm just doing some editing now and hope to have the next chapter of Lost in Translation up soon!

Visit my livejournal for news on updates!


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